


On Mapping Ice & Snow

by CourierNinetyTwo



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, rwbysecretsanta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 02:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5609950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNinetyTwo/pseuds/CourierNinetyTwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Weiss takes Coco to meet her family over winter break.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Mapping Ice & Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Written for tumblr user fallmaiden as part of the 2015 RWBY Secret Santa.

The Silver Bullet airship series was one of the most expensive ever put into production. Coco had only wrangled a passenger seat twice before – both on trips that required room for her entire family – but the specs were too impressive to forget. Ten pristine rows of first-class comfort with almost every little luxury imaginable, and several more provided by the mechanized butler who was in constant motion throughout the flight, digitized smile locked permanently in place. At full speed, the ship kissed the air and could cross a kingdom in half the time as any commercial transport, while everyone inside felt like they were floating on a cloud.

Out of the five ever built, a single one was available for private contracts. This was the first time Coco had ever flown on one of the four with a Schnee logo etched onto the wings – not to mention the chairs, carpet, and coasters.

Weiss flipped through their itinerary beside her with a constant flutter of fingertips, making notes in shorthand on every new tab projected from the scroll. A nervous energy ran through the younger girl every time the two of them traveled together, although Coco had never voiced that observation aloud. Introducing a significant other to one’s parents was always nerve-wracking, regardless of the fact that they were currently zipping through the sky in a Dust-driven metal tube.

Her time at the Adel manor had gone pretty well, though, if Coco had anything to say about it.

“Everything’s going to be fine, Weiss.” She pitched her voice low and soft to keep it from carrying; the butler idling a few rows back definitely had recording capability. “Worst case scenario, I put us up at the first five-star your family doesn’t have stocks in.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” The answer came out sharp, clipped to the bleeding edge, and Weiss stopped short. With one gesture, the scroll screen went dark. “I’m sorry. You’re not the one I’m upset with.”

Looking at Weiss over the brim of her sunglasses, Coco raised a brow. “Want to fill me in, babe?”

“It’s my father.” A message lit up the scroll, but the persistent chime was pointedly ignored. “Winter’s sure to think you’re suitably charming – especially since she’s happy I’m dating at all – but he…”

“I don’t care if he doesn’t like me, Weiss.” Save for the requisite donations to charity, Silberne Schnee lacked any and all reputation for generosity, be it in corporate or personal matters. Coco knew her mother appreciated his ruthlessness and business acumen, but neither were traits in common with a kind father. “It’s the last thing on my mind.”

“He will _like_ you.” A softened tone did nothing to hide the conflict Weiss wedged into that single word. “I just hate the reasons why.”

With a rough push of her elbow, Coco knocked the armrest between them up and wordlessly offered her hand. Weiss took it, fingers cupped in the larger mold of her palm, and waited for the descent to come.

–

If a private airstrip wasn’t enough, the quartet of guards that met them were an even more recent model than the butler, details on their chassis designed to emulate the lines and silhouette of a tailored suit. Coco brought her shades down an inch for their scan and sweep, identity confirmed with a soft chime.

“Welcome home, Ms. Schnee.” A gentle whirr accompanied the movement of the guard’s hand, extended towards the estate. “Your guest can store her coat in the receiving room.”

“Ignore it.” Weiss said, striding forward and away from the robots’ reach. “You can use my closet.”

Once they were out of earshot – at least, Coco guessed as such – she had to ask, “What exactly are those?”

“Prototypes, mostly. My father’s contracts with Ironwood fund half the artificial intelligence research in Atlas these days.”

“Ironwood’s got good taste in uniforms.” At least for the officers; the average enlisted on the streets still wore Mantle-era kits, albeit gutted for new tech. “One of my aunt’s more inspired moments.”

Threads of red Dust lit up the carpet as Weiss entered, evaporating the snow from her shoes. Coco waited until her boots were dry and followed the path through the foyer and into a wider chamber where a pair of staircases ascended and joined at the upper floor, the singular carved banister flanking an elevator with doors of cold, polished steel. Said elevator opened just seconds later, and the tall figure who emerged from it was a tier dressed down from the dozens of photos Coco had seen on Weiss’ scroll.

The heavy flush of exertion painted Winter’s face, sweat pouring down her brow before it was wiped away with a thick towel. A bloodied stripe marred one shoulder with no obvious culprit, too wide and deep to be the result of the sword strapped to her hip, but if the injury pained her, it didn’t show. She made it halfway down the stairs before snapping to attention, the insular focus written into her expression shattering into a broad smile.

“Of course you get here early the one day I’m a mess, sister.” Winter said, pressing the towel to her shoulder until a dark stain soaked through it. “And you must be Coco Adel.”

Coco let herself smile, glad to have an excuse not to fake it. “I’d say I’m the one and only, but it’s my great-grandmother’s name too. She’s still kicking in a Vacuo summer home somewhere.”

“I’m sure Father will bring out the charts to compare bloodlines with dinner.” Peeling off the towel, Winter raised a brow. “Stay out of the training room while you’re here, Weiss. I need to recalibrate the constructs again.”

“Did he change something about them?” Weiss asked, frowning.

“A new operating system. He wanted their shield matrix to adapt more quickly to different Dust types, but the feedback is…unpleasant.” The edge of Winter’s mouth twitched, face unreadable for a split second. “I need to get washed up before we’re formally introduced at the table.”

Coco caught the briefest hesitation in Weiss’ nod. “It’s good to see you.”  

“It’s good to see you too.” Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, Winter smiled, a bit sharper than before. “Coco, I’ll interrogate you later.”

“As any sister should.” She said, and then Winter was gone, lost in a maze of distant hallways. “That looked like it hurt.”

“It must have.” Distaste tightened Weiss’ mouth into a thin line. “The blades in there are real steel, but her Aura should have prevented the damage unless the program was being far more aggressive than usual.”

“Winter’s spec ops, right?” From her build, Coco was convinced the older Schnee could flip a truck with a bit of sustained effort.

“Yes, for a few years now. She excels at it.” Weiss’ gaze drifted to the top of the stairs. “Father should be in his chamber.”

It was a straight shot down one wide hallway after the staircase, although they bypassed a dozen other rooms before reaching a set of wooden double doors. Coco recognized the oak they were carved from – banned from export out of Vacuo for the last century – but this estate was at least that old, even if the house itself was renovated to the cutting edge. A panel to the right accepted Weiss’ fingerprints after a heat scan, locks popping open before the doors swung inwards.

To call the chamber a _den_ offered little testament to its size, but there were only so many words suitable for a room filled with trophies and paintings, dwarfed only by a massive fireplace as the blazing centerpiece. A single chair was set in front of it, back to the door, with a plush sitting cushion positioned on either side. Both of them were low to the ground, preventing the lash of flames from being obscured.

“He’ll know who we are without looking.” Weiss muttered under her breath. “His scroll tells him whoever accesses the door.”

A power trip and a parlor trick all at once; Coco would have been impressed if her parents didn’t have the same passive-aggressive habit.

“Weiss.” Silberne’s voice was a deep rumble, edges smoothed out by the glass of whiskey Coco saw in his hand when she got close enough. “I hoped you would be early. Come, sit.”

With a subtle tilt of Weiss’ head, Coco took direction to the right, stopping short of the cushion rather than sitting down immediately. Everything important about Silberne’s appearance was displayed in the portrait above the fireplace, but the painter hadn’t managed to capture the hard confidence emblazoned in sky-blue eyes, reflecting a life of power scarcely questioned. She didn’t back down, staring at him unblinking until the smallest smile tugged at the edge of Silberne’s mouth.

“You are your mother’s daughter.” After a vague gesture to the cushion, Coco took her seat in tandem with Weiss, grateful she had no need to rearrange skirts to be comfortable. “Adel Industries’ acquisition of Merlot’s subsidiaries was one of the only business deals I’ve ever been outbid on.”

One of her uncles had been sleeping with the top accountant at Merlot, but he certainly didn’t need to know that. “She did offer you stocks in them after the fact.”

“A noble gesture, but I don’t accept second best.” Silberne took a deep draught of his whiskey before his gaze landed on Weiss. “It’s a shame you two weren’t born in the same year. Perhaps you could have been partners at Beacon.”

“Weiss’ team is stellar.” Coco countered, biting back the curse that tried to rise up in the middle of that sentence. “Leader’s got a good head on her shoulders too.”

He set his glass down with a deliberate, dull thud against solid wood. “You don’t have to defend my daughter, Coco. She’s quite capable of speaking her mind when the occasion calls for it.”

“Professor Opzin provides you with monthly reports on our progress, Father.” Weiss said coolly, spine straight as a steel rod. “It seemed like a waste of breath to repeat myself.”

“I welcome your perspective nonetheless. Ozpin has his own reputation as a headmaster to protect, after all.” His eyes swept back to Coco, smile perfect and empty as if it had been cast from a mold. “This, at least, is an improvement.”

Past the dark corner of Coco’s lens, Weiss’ hands tensed imperceptibly in her lap. “Any chance we could wash up before dinner, Mr. Schnee?”

“Of course.” Gesturing towards the door, Silberne retrieved his glass before his arm relaxed again. “Down the hall to your right. Be at your seats in fifteen minutes.”

Coco had no intention of waiting for a formal dismissal. She rose from her seat, relieved when Weiss did the same, and walked right out of Silberne’s chambers without looking back. The doors swung shut with a faint whisper of hydraulics, and the flush of warmth across Weiss’ face faded along with the ten degree drop in temperature.

It was tempting to offer her hand as a temporary anchor, but while it might have been the right time, Coco banked on it being the wrong place. “I don’t really care about washing up.”

“Me neither.” After a perfect pivot on one heel, Weiss started down the left hall with an even, quiet stride. “Let’s just go to my room.”

Her bedroom had all the formal stylings of an embassy receiving chamber, imported Valian crystal accenting an arctic color scheme, and shelves decorated to match the aesthetic rather than providing any personal touch. The only sign that this was Weiss’ room at all was a glass case for Myrtenaster and the heavy woven banner above it, declaring back-to-back Mistral Tournament victories by Pyrrha Nikos.

“Father only let me have that because he thought it would drive me to do better.” Weiss said, darkly amused, “as if I’d suddenly champion tournaments every year at Beacon because of a flag.”

“She’s in your year, right?” Coco asked.

There was a moment’s hesitation, but Weiss finally nodded. “I tried to make her my partner the first week of school because I thought we’d be the perfect combination. Looks, money, reputation. He would have been happy.”

She raised a brow. “Would you be?”

“I’m not sure I would have changed at all if my team wasn’t a constant frustration.” Approaching the glass doors at the far side of the room, Weiss pushed them open to allow access to the balcony. “Irritation makes pearls.”

“Pressure makes diamonds.” Coco finished by rote; she was surprised it wasn’t the Adel family motto for how often her mother said it. “You know, I was expecting worse from your dad. Some potshots about the Schnee Dust monopoly, at the least.”

“He’ll save those for the dinner table when it’s too impolite for you to leave.” The last syllable hitched in Weiss’ throat, but she was staring out over the balcony, expression concealed.

“Hey.” She stepped forward, and the shift through the moonlight nearly washed out the white symbol emblazoned on Weiss’ bolero. “You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but I’m listening either way.”

“I’ve made him happy.” Pale fingers gripped the balcony’s edge, knuckles tensed to hard points. “Because he thinks I’m acting in the family’s interest instead of my own. Like you’re a conquest.”

“Weiss–” Coco began.

“I’d _never_ do that to you.” Weiss sniffled, head bowing. “You know that, right?”

One hand went to the small of Weiss’ back, the contact spreading by degrees in case the touch was too much. “If your dad thinks he’s going to pry trade secrets out of me because I’m dating you, he’s got another thing coming.”

“It’ll start with a suggestion until he finds the right pressure point.” Her shoulders shook with a suppressed sound. “The way he talks about other people, like they’re quarries to be mined dry.”

“Then I’ll make him hate me.” Coco leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the top of Weiss’ head. “And I’ll keep dating you anyway.”

That earned a glance back, Weiss’ mouth screwed into a tight frown. “How?”

Tugging her beret to the side, she gave it a rakish edge, and managed to provoke a tiny smile. “Trust me, Weiss. I turn on the charm when I want to, and I can turn it off too.”

“But what if he–”

“Say we got married.” The suggestion put Weiss’ eyes wide as windows, but Coco waved it off with a grin. “It’s a hypothetical. If we were married, tangled up all our assets and inheritance, my family could pull back just as hard as yours. It’s never a one-way street, Weiss, no matter how much your father pretends it is. You think three generations of Adels are going to ask how high just because he says jump?”

Weiss shook her head. “No. Your mother would probably impale him with the knife from the wedding cake.”

“Exactly.” And then twist it a few times for good measure. “So he can play all the mind games he wants, Weiss. The only thing I care about is how you feel.”

She pulled a face, lips pursing into a thin line. “I feel like climbing down this trellis and getting dinner with you at that greasy burger chain we went to on our second date.”

“You know I’d jump on that offer in a hot second.” Coco said.

“But he’d think I was having a childish fit instead of just…doing what feels right.” Letting out a deep sigh, Weiss released her iron grip on the balcony. “And I won’t leave Winter alone with him and the bourbon on solstice.”

Turning her palm up, Coco offered her hand. “Let’s go give your sister some company, then.”

No matter how the place settings were arranged, the massive table cut from a single full trunk of red Vacuo wood wasn’t meant for four people. With only a quartet of chairs huddled on one side, Coco had to wonder how many Schnees once had reason to sit here before the family branches were culled down by war and internal rivalry, the same conflicts that split the Adel clan – royalty twice, ousted thrice – to a bloodline with a single narrow point.

Silberne and Winter were already in their seats, both acknowledging Weiss’ hand in hers before averting their eyes. The smile Winter hid behind her napkin wasn’t particularly well-concealed, though, and Coco took the chair right across from her, gauging it was meant for Weiss. A minute twitch passed along her father’s brow, but he made no comment.

“Dinner will be out momentarily.” Winter said, spooning a bit of sugar in her tea. “Everything takes longer to cook in this season. Not to mention the altitude.”

“I’m all for idle conversation.” Surrendering her hold on Weiss’ hand, Coco leaned back in her seat with an idle slouch. “Weiss turns eighteen in a month, right?”

Winter’s spoon went still, the minute shake of her head closer to amusement than disapproval. “Three weeks.”

“Why do you ask?” Silberne interjected.

“Got my eyes about the future. There’s only a year left until I graduate, you know.” Casting a smile towards Weiss, Coco shrugged. “We’re serious enough, I was thinking about putting a ring on her finger.”

White teeth were bared in his tight smile. “Excuse me?”

“You know you don’t have any say after she’s legal, right?” She fluttered her fingers towards the window. “Just like that, it’s all gone.”

Silberne’s eyes narrowed to slits, sharp fragments of bright blue. “I control my daughter’s inheritance, regardless of her age, Ms. Adel.”

“I could keep her in the lifestyle she’s accustomed to with or without your money.” Coco shrugged again, comfortably slumped in the chair. “Did you know there’s a mountain of Dust in Menagerie that’s been waiting for a buyer since the war? Probably enough to make up for half your quarries, if anyone was brave enough to push back against the monopoly. Someone with enough funding could suddenly have a thirty-plus percent share in Remnant’s Dust once it was on the market.”

“Are you threatening me?” There it was; the cold snap in his voice she’d been waiting to hear.

“No, I’m just sharing facts.” Coco let all the amusement drain out of her expression, eyes narrowed. “But if you try and exploit my family’s goodwill because Weiss and I are together, or you think you’ll twist my arm into a breakup after this, then someone’s probably going to pull the knives out.”

Silence filled the massive hall, only the distant flicker of fire from the candles preventing it from falling dead as Mantle catacombs. If looks could kill, Coco was sure her heart would have stopped in her chest, but there was nothing behind Silberne’s deep rage beyond a touch of frost spreading across the surface of his glass.

Winter coughed into her next sip of tea before setting the cup down. “Of all the holidays I decided to return home for.”

“Can we be excused?” Weiss chimed in softly.

The second he nodded, Coco pushed her chair back with the hard drag of heels on stone and rose to her feet, falling in sync with Weiss’ measured steps all the way out of the room. Out in the foyer, she sucked in a breath between her teeth, pulse tapering back down to an even beat.

Then a high laugh carried all the way to the ceiling, tears shining in Weiss’ eyes by the time the sound faded away. “I can’t believe you did that. No one’s spoken to him like that in my entire life.”

“Bet he won’t even send me a solstice card now.” Not unless the ink was poisoned, anyway. “We’ll have to walk down your driveway, but I can call a car to take us out for a real dinner. No solstice rituals of famine and plenty to speak of.”

“As long as you pay for it.” Weiss murmured, bemused. “He might cancel my platinum card for at least a month after that stunt.”

“I wasn’t joking earlier, you know.” Coco offered her arm with a slightly exaggerated bow of her head. “We could split my allowance with more than enough to spare. My parents would fund it just to spite your father.”

Snow whirled through the air as they stepped outside, the broken edges of the moon bright enough to light the far path down to the gate. Security drones hummed and whirred the whole way, artificial eyes zooming in to confirm identities before returning to their designated beat. Without the constant surveillance, the scene would almost have been idyllic, but Coco was used to making do in the limelight.

“Car will take twenty minutes. I could get a plane in five, but the airspace above this house is probably restricted, right–”

Coco found herself in the middle of a kiss, Weiss tugging the center of her scarf to make up for the difference in height. When they broke apart, breath spiraling out like fog, it took a moment for her thoughts to form one solid whole again, and half the culprit was the way Weiss smiled while seeing her dazed.

“The car is fine.” She adjusted Coco’s scarf, ensuring the rose was perfectly off-center. “And thank you for saving me from spending until midnight in those awful wooden chairs.”

“Any time, babe.” With some luck, her sunglasses would stop steaming up sometime soon. “Happy solstice.”

Weiss took her hand, tugging them both towards the exit gate. “Happy solstice.”

–


End file.
